Rear sight for firearms



May l5, 1.923.4

J. M. BROWNING REAR SIGHT FOR FIREARMS Filled May l5 l Z 0 ,22,

fr ik INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented May 15, 1923.

UNITED STATES JOI-IN M. BROWNING, OF OGDEN, UTAH.

REAR SIGHT FOR FIREARMS.

Application filed May 13, 1922.

T 0 all whom t may concern Be it known that I, JOHN M. BRowNING, a citizen of the United States, residing in Ogden, in the county of lVeber and State of Utah, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rear Sights for Firearms, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

The invention generally relates to adjustable rear sights for pistols, and it specially relates to the rear sights for automatic pistols which, when fired rapidly, are exposed to a succession of violent shocks due to their recoil after each shot.

The main object of the invention is to provide for an automatic pistol an adjustable rear sight the movements of which will be cushioned so as to minimize the shocks of recoil when the p-istol is fired, and thereby prevent the sight from being thrown out of adjustment.

The special object is to provide means for securely attaching an adjustable rear sight toa recoiling part of an automatic pistolV in such manner that on firing the shocks of recoil will not loosen said attachment.

Another object is to provide on an automatic pistol a securely but lengthwise movably attached rear sight, which carries an adjustable part, with cushioning means between said movable sight and said pistol for preventing said adjustable part from being thrown out of its adjustment by the shock of recoil.

These objects are attained by a rear sight of simple and practical construction, having few parts inexpensive of manufacture, but efcient and not liable to get out of order.

The embodiment of the improvements represented in the accompanying drawings is an adjustable rear sight attached to the recoiling breech-slide of a well known magazine-pistol of my invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. l iS a side elevation of an automatic magazinepistol with my improved rear sight attached to the top of the breech-slide near the rear end of same, and with the front sight fixed near the forward end of said breech-slide; a po-rtion of said breech-slide between the two sights being broken away.

Fig. 2 represents, an a greatly enlarged scale, a vertical longitudinal section of the rear portion of the breech-slide, with the improved rear sight attached thereto.

Serial No. 560,757.

Fig. 3 represents a rear end view of the breech-slide, on the same scale as that of Fig. l, with the rear sight attached upon said breech-slide.

Fig. 4 represents a plan view of the adj ustable rear sight, detached, seen from above.

Fig. 5 represents a transverse section of the rear sight by a vertical plane, at the line m-y of Fig. 2, as seen from the rear.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The letter a denotes the frame, and 7) the breech-slide of an automatic pist-ol vertically confined upon the frame by the usual interlocking longitudinal ribs and grooves which also serve to guide the breech-slide b in its lengthwise reciprocations upon the frame a.

The top of the breech-slide is provided with a longitudinal rib c extending from its rear end to its forward end, and said rib is T-shaped in cross section, its top extending beyond its lower portion on each side. Securely fixed in the breech-slide b near the yforward end is the front sight cl, and the base-plate e of the rear sight is mounted upon the rear portion of the rib o said baseplate e having a coresponding longitudinal T-shaped slot in its under side. Near its front end the base-plate e extends upward to form on each side a longitudinal rib f in the forward portion of which the transverse pivot-pin g is seated which serves the purpose of pivotally attaching the adjustable sight-leaf it to the base-plate e.

At some distance in rear of the pivot-pin g the two ribs f, f being reduced in width, leave a somewhat wider longitudinal opening between them and the adjustable sightleaf la, being correspondingly widened, fills in its lowest folded-down position this wider space. Movably attached to the sight-leaf 7L is the sight-slide 7c with its projecting knurled ends adapted to be grasped and its lower edges extended inward below the undercut sides of the sight-leaf 7L. The rearward movement of the sight-slide 7c is limited by a transverse upward projection j on the rear end of the sight-leaf 7L, and in said projection j a central V-shaped sighting notch is cut through which the frontsight Z may be seen in aiming the pistol.

The ribs 7, f on the sides of the base-plate c from their forward highest portion incline rearward and downward to the front of the sight-slide in its rearmost position,

and are provided with a series of V-shaped transverse recesses, and the sight-slide k has on each side a corresponding V-shaped downward projection Z, to' engage any one of the said recesses in the ribs f, f, by which arrangement the sight-leaf 71. may be at will raised from its lowest rear position to its highest forward position, or to any of the intermediate positions.

T he upper surface of the sight-leaf h, between the ribs f, is divided into two parts by a strong central longitudinal line, and on each side of this line a series of transverse graduation lines is cut, see Fig. A, with spaces between the lines for numerals to indicate the range for which the sight-leaf Z1, is raised when the downward projections, Z, Z of the sight-slide Z0 rest in any of the series of recesses in the ribs.

The entire construction of the sight as far as described is the usual well-known one and does not need further explanation.

In Fig. 5 the central portion of the sightleaf ZL pivotally attached to the base-plate e between the ribs f, f by the pivot pin g, carries a strong transverse downwardly projecting tongue i which extends through a slot in the base-plate e and through a corresponding slot in the top of the breech-slide Z7 into a longitudinal hole m in the upper portion of .the breech-slide b; the rear portion of this hole m provides the seat for the spiral spring n and for the piston-pin o, the enlarged forward portion of which rests against the rear face of the tongue whereby the tension of the spring n', transmitted through the piston o to the tougue z', tends to turn it on its pivot in forward direction, and thereby also tends to turn the sightleaf h in rearward and downward direct-ion, and at the same time tends to yieldingly hold the base-plate e and with it the entire rear sight in the forward position.

As is clearly indicated in Fig. 2, the front end of the slot in the top of the breech-slide Z9, coincides with that of the slot in the baseplate c, so that there may be a rotary movement of the sight-leaf Zz. and its tongue on the pivot-pin g, but there cannot be any longitudinal movement in forward direction of either the sight-leaf or of the baseplate e; however, the rear end of the vertical slot in the breech-slide Z9 is located considerably further to the rear than that of the slot in the base-plate e, and this enables the base-plate e and the entire rear sight to be moved to the rear of a certain distance.

When the piston is fired the breech-slide recoils upon the frame supported in the shooters hand grasping the grip, then the recoil of the breech-slide is stopped and the rear sight, under its momentum, tends to move further rearwad upon they breech-slide. When several shots are fired in rapid succession the base-plate e and with it the entire rear sight are exposed to violent shock liable 'to loosen the attachment of the sight and to disturb the adjustment of its movable parts.

The spring n and piston ol by their connection through the tongue Z with the baseplate e serve to cushion the shocks, to yieldngly hold the base-platee in place and after each shot to return it to its proper forward position, and also at the same time to yieldingly hold the pivoted sight-leaf in its adjusted position by preventing it from being turned upward and forward by the shocks.

An automatic pistol is therefore adapted to be fired rapidly and yet with great accuracy, by being provided with the hereinbefore described rear sight and its cushioning device.

What I claim is:

l. In a rear sight for automatic pistols having a recoiling breech-slide, the combina.- tion of a recoil-actuated breech-slide', a baseplate lengthwise movably attached on said breech-slide, and a spring mounted in said breech slide and holding said baseplate yieldingly in its attachment on said breechslide.

2. In a rear sight for automatic pistols having a recoiling breech-slide, the combination of a recoil-actuated breech slide, a baseplate lengthwise movably attached on said breech-slide, said base-plate carrying a projection extending inward into said breechslide, and a spring in said breech-slide acting on said projection to hold said baseplate yieldingly in its attachment on said breech-slide.

3. A rear sight for automatic pistols having a recoiling breech-slide, comprising a breech-slide, a base-plate movably attached to the breech-slide of said pistol, a leaf pivoted to said basezplate and havingprojection extending into said breech-slide and a piston yieldingly slidable within said breechslide and acting on said projection for yieldingly securing said base-plate on said breechslide.

4. A rear sight for automatic pistols having a recoiling breech-slide, comprising a breech-slide, a base-plate movably attached to said breech-slide, a leaf pivoted to said base-plate and having a projection extending into the breech-slide, and a piston yieldingly slidable within said breech-slide and acting on said projection for yieldingly securing said base-plate on said breech-slide and yieldingly holding said leaf adjusted on said base-plate.

5. A rear sight for automatic pistols having a recoiling breech-slide, comprising a breech-slide, a base-plate movably attached to said breech-slide and having on its sides recesses, a leaf pivoted to said base-plate and carrying a sight-slide adapted for engagement with said recesses, said leaf having a projection extending into the breech-slide, and a spring-actuated piston yieldingly slidable Within said breechslide and acting on said projection for yieldingly securing said base-plate on said breechslide and yieldngly holding said leaf and said sight-slide adjusted on said base-plate.

G. In a rear sight for automatic pistols having a reeoiling breech-slide, the combination of a recoil-actuated breeeh-slide, a baseplate lengthwise movably attached 0n said breech-slide, and means Within said breechslide for yieldingly holding said base-plate in its attachment on said breech-slide.

7. In a rear sight for automatic pistols having a recoiling breech-slide, the combination of a breech-slide, a base-plate movably attached on said breech-slide, and a springpressed member Within said breech-slide, said base-plate and said member co-operat-ing to hold the base-plate yieldingly on said breech-slide.

8. A rear sight for automatic pistols having a recoiling breech-slide, comprising a breech-slide, a baseplate movably attached to said breech-slide, an adjustable sight-leaf pivoted to said base-plate, and a member yieldingly slidable Within said breech-slide, said sight-leaf and said member co-operating to yieldingly secure said base-plate on said breech-slide and to yieldingly hold said sight-leaf adjusted on said base-plate.

This specification signed and witnessed this 4th day of May, A. I). 1922.

C. J. EHBETS, A. L. ULRICH. 

